The Early Boat of Death
by Jet556
Summary: Sequel to "Ninja Ping." Framed for the murder of Tina Kwee, Lee Ping investigates the circumstances behind her death while being pursued by the Hoplite. He discovers a plan by CSIS agent Phil Blompkins and another person named Moneranian to utilize the plans of Joseph Stalin to create and control an army of Humanzees.
1. A Sad Beginning

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 **A Sad Beginning**

Tina Kwee killed by him? It was impossible! They were in two different parts of the country! Lee Ping could not understand it. Further more, there was no proof Tina was truly dead. She fell into a lake and did not surface? It did not make any sense. Tina was a good swimmer she could hold her breath for a few minutes. She could not have drowned!

And now the Hoplite believed this to be true! His greatest ally who was also his greatest opponent. Someone whom Lee knew not the identity of!

So it was that Lee investigated the circumstances behind Tina's alleged death. In her apartment, Lee searched through Tina's files. This was not something he normally would have done but he had no choice.

What did he find? Information about some mad project of Joseph Stalin's!

And that was when the Hoplite appeared in the doorway.

"So, breaking killing Tina was not enough?" asked the Hoplite. "Now you have to break into her apartment and go through her files?"

"I did not kill Tina!" replied Lee.

"Oh really? Well the person who killed Tina certainly matches your description. Unless your brother has risen from the grave I am having a hard time believing that."

"I was nowhere near Lake Ontario!"

"An alibi, eh?"

"It is the truth!"

"Since when have blackguards ever spoken the truth?"

"I am not a blackguard! I am a champion!" insisted Lee.

"Then prove it!"

"I can't."

"Then it looks like you have no choice but to fight, Lee!"


	2. Across the Rooftops

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 **Across the Rooftops**

Not wanting to fight the Hoplite, Lee turned to the window in Tina's apartment and jumped through it. Not since the adventure involving an embezzled key had Lee needed to run from an ally who did not know the truth. That ally had been his own late brother.

Landing on a nearby roof, Lee ran as the Hoplite pursued him. There was no choice but to keep running!

Keep running! Keep running!

It was like an evil-hearted tory pursuing a pacifistic democrat. A hound pursuing its prey be it deer, fox, leopard, raccoon or wolf. A zombie pursuing who it had been sent to kill by its master!

Keep running! Keep running!

"You can't run forever, Lee!" yelled the Hoplite.

Keep running! Keep running!

"Neither can you, armored like a turtle!" replied Lee.

Keep running! Keep running!

Lee was right. With his armor, the Hoplite would be slowed down! Not since the instability of Chief Wurst had Lee been pursed by an armored man! That time the pursuer had been slowed down by his armor as well.

Keep running! Keep running!

By Richard I of England and Saladin! They had gone across ten rooftops and still the Hoplite showed no sign of tiring! This was impossible but still it showed the Hoplite to be both a worthy ally and a worthy opponent.

Keep running! Keep running!

And then it happened! Lee ran out of rooftops and he realized it only as he reached the edge. Before him was

Keep running! Keep running!

But he couldn't.


	3. Dive!

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 **Dive!**

Lee dived from the roof into the river below. He had escaped the Hoplite but now he had to find out about who this double of his was.

Still, he had to swim to safety first. So swim he did.

If only he had a safe swim. If only he had not gone from the Hoplite to something much worse.

At first he saw a Hydrus swimming towards him. It was a mongoose-like creature a foot in length and four inches high. It swam right past him and then Lee saw something that was indeed much worse than a little hydrus.

It was a Bunyip! What was a Bunyip doing in Canada? What had a hydrus been doing in Canada when the creatures were native to Egypt?

The Bunyip was eight feet long and two and a half feet wide. It was a marsupial with a horse-like tail, flippers and walrus-like tusks. It was quite a vicious beast and its bloodthirsty eyes were on Lee!

Charging at Lee, the Bunyip opened its jaws forcing to Lee to grab said jaws to keep the tusks from his throat.

Lee had a dagger but he was unable to get to it! If he could he'd be able to finish this quickly! Yet if he were to move for his dagger those tusks would be in his throat.

But here they both were at the surface! Their heads were both above the water! Lee would just have to force the Bunyip's head beneath the water!

That however was easier said than done! The Bunyip's neck muscles were immensely strong! It was darn near impossible to force the monster's head beneath the water!

Eventually, Lee succeeded! Feeling the water rush down its throat and into its lungs, the Bunyip was forced to retreat.

Now free from his attacker, Lee continued his swim and reached the opposite bank. From that side, Lee could hear the Hoplite yelling at him.

"You may have survived that monster, Lee, but you will never escape me and thus never survive me!"

That remained to be seen. But now Lee had some research to do at the headquarters of the CSIS!


	4. Ottawa

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 **Ottawa**

At the CSIS headquarters, Lee went through the records. Each agent had their own file with information on recent missions they were given. Finding Tina's file, Lee found it to be completely empty.

No!

He could not have come all this way just to find a dead end could? It just did not make any sense. This could not have been it!

"Looking for something, Mr. Ping?"

Lee turned around and saw Phil Blompkins behind him. How did he not hear a man wearing wooden footwear coming?

"What are you doing here this late at night?" asked Lee.

"I sleep in my office, in my desk specifically." Replied Blompkins. "That is not a joke. Now, again I ask, are you looking for something, Mr. Ping?"

"What was Tina's mission that has caused her to be believed dead?" asked Lee.

"Why do you want to know that?" asked Blompkins.

"Because the woman I love is believed to be dead and I am the one believed to have killed her causing my one time ally to be seeking my death!" exclaimed Lee. "If Tina is dead then I will find whoever this doppleganger is, kill him and avenge Tina!"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Have you ever had anyone you loved more than anything in the world?" asked Lee.

"The only thing I love more than anything in the world is my clogs." Replied Blompkins.

"How many pairs do you own?"

"Ninety-six."

"Far too many to save then." Commented Lee.

Blompkins hung his head and motioned for Lee to follow. "Let us talk, Mister Lee Ping about Agent Tina Kwee's mission before her apparent death at your so-called doppleganger's hands."


	5. Moneranian

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 **Moneranian**

In Blompkins' office, Lee met a rather foppish looking fellow by the name of Moneranian. Foppish however would have been the kindest description of Moneranian.

"Call me Chaz!" said Moneranian upon being introduced.

Lee and Blompkins both responded with "No." Thus Moneranian shall only be referred to by his surname since no one wants to even acknowledge he has one.

"So what is going on here?" asked Lee. "I thought you'd be asleep but it turns out you were having a meeting with this…"

"I have a name!" insisted Moneranian.

"What do you know of Joseph Stalin?" asked Blompkins to Lee.

"He was the People's Commissar of Nationalities of the RSFSR, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the State Defense Committee, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Generalissimo of the Soviet Union, two time choice for Time magazine's person of the year and you would be less likely to survive a weekend with him than Adolf Hitler." Stated Lee.

"Then you do not know that he had a plan to create and control an army of Humanzees!" exclaimed Moneranian.

"What?" asked Lee. "What the heck are humanzees?"

"A hypothetical hybrid between chimpanzees and humans." Replied Blompkins. "We intend to utilize this plan and we shall take over the world! With our cloning we have gotten rid of Tina Kwee! It was your clone who killed her! You have no place of protection but here with us! Join us, Mr. Ping!"

"What?" Lee was absolutely confused. Just how did they go from the explanation of what a humanzee was to the topic of them getting rid of Tina to them now asking him to join them? After a second, he shook his head and stared at Blompkins. "No. No! I won't join you! You are as insane as Stalin was! Maybe more so! If Tina is alive I will find her and if she isn't I will stop you to make sure your evil plan never comes to fruition!"

"I am so sorry to hear that." Said Blompkins as he took a gun out of his pocket while Moneranian did the same thing. "We really could have used you."


	6. Escape

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 **Escape**

Blompkins fired at his gun only for Lee to jump out of the way caused Chaz to be killed. That was one less villain for Lee to worry about, now there was just Blompkins to worry about.

Running out of Blompkins' office, Lee began his escape from the CSIS headquarters. What was he to do now? Where was he to go? He had a knife while Blompkins had a gun and he was not that good at throwing knives.

Was Tina really dead? Was she alive? He wished he knew.

And this clone of his? Where was it now? Was it just around the next corner? Was it just waiting outside? He really wished he knew for that so he could be properly prepared!

Actually, for a similar question, where was the Hoplite? Where was his Greek counterpart? A clone of himself was bad but the added factor of the Hoplite made it worse. As long as he was not facing them both at the same time, he would most likely probably be fine. At least, he really hoped so.

Unfortunately, Lee found both of them right outside the door. Fortunately, the clone was dead and the Hoplite was standing over it just as Lee came running out.

"Well, well, what have we here?" asked the Hoplite. "The real Lee or some clone?" The clone then turned to dust. "Excellent answer, well timed too. Then it seems you are innocent."

"Yes, I am and now I'm running from the CSIS… Or at least their head at the moment… He's got a gun, I've got a knife and I am not that good at knife throwing."

"Well, two against one should make the odds better, especially since I have armor." It was at that point that Blompkins appeared on the scene with a armed CSIS agents. "Well, this might wear down my armor."

"Well, well, well…" said Blompkins. "So there is a Hoplite! And I thought Ms. Kwee had been pulling my leg. Whatever the case, you shall both die!"

"Would you mind explaining all this, Lee?" asked the Hoplite.

"Later." Said Lee. "Lets just get out of here first!" The two turned only to find even more armed agents behind them. "Boy do I hope there will be a later."


	7. Hold

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 **Hold**

The CSIS agents raised the guns and prepared to fire until Blompkins raised a hand.

"Hold!" he cried. "We shall not kill them, instead I ask Mr. Ping and the Hoplite to meet me at Lake Ontario."

"Lake Ontario?" asked Lee. "The place where Tina is believed to have died? Do you intend to kill us there too?"

"No…" replied Blompkins. "Waiting at Lake Ontario is an early boat of death from before the civilized civilizations such as Egypt, Scythia, Rome, France, Ireland, Scotland or our own Canada came into existence. It was found not long after the event involving Lynch Webber. You remember that don't you? It is well preserved and can even be sailed. We shall face each other there on that boat, nowhere else. Not here on the steps of my headquarters. This is not up to a negotiation. Well, what do you say?"


	8. Upon the Lake

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 **Upon the Lake**

Greater than the Titanic or anything that the Vikings or Noah had built, the Early Boat of Death sat upon the lake of Ontario. What was this thing? When had it been built? Who built it? For what reason had it been built?

The answers?

What was this thing? It was just a boat just like how the flu was just the flu.

When had it been built? Well to begin with, it dated back to the time of Atlantis. In fact it predated the birth of Evenor, ancestor of the Kings of Atlantis. Truth be told it had been built before any city on Atlantis had been built, it was that old.

Who built it? Well, it had been built during Atlantis' stone age and thus no Atlantean could have built such a boat. Could it have been the people of the island of Thule? Given the fact that Thule's inhabitants were Picts, a Celtic people who would sometimes resort to piracy, it was very possible. Or could it have been from Lemuria, an island located in the Indian and Pacific oceans? It seems unlikely, as the Lemurians were the ancestors of the Tartars, Huns, Mongols, Pashtuns and the Turkish people who were all horsemen but on the other hand the Lemurians would have needed a way to escape Lemuria when it sank therefore it is just as likely that the Lemurians could have built this boat.

What reason had it been built? Well, wasn't that the million dollar question. There was no sarcophagus nor anything that would imply this was funeral boat. On the other hand there was a lot of imagery that would suggest a death-god was being invoked to frighten enemies.

Still, this was not something that Lee or the Hoplite was thinking about. They were instead thinking about what could be waiting for them on the boat. Thus they discussed this.

"Supposed Blompkins has a humanzee waiting for us on the boat." Suggested the Hoplite. "Or a whole bunch of them?"

"Do you really think he could have some created already?" asked Lee.

"Probably not enough for an army." Replied the Hoplite. "More likely the equivalent of a battalion… Or something smaller."

"I'm hoping for something smaller." Said Lee.

So was the Hoplite.


	9. The Fight

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 **The Fight**

When Lee and the Hoplite arrived on the boat they found Blompkins waiting for them. He was smiling a most evil smile with his shark-like teeth shining in the light.

"Well, well… A glorified assassin and a masked man in a can…" Blompkins laughed. "My first humanzee will make quick work of you!" As soon as Blompkins spoke those words, a horrible mixture of human and chimp appeared on the deck.

"What do you think?" asked Lee to the Hoplite.

"Well, chimpanzees are strong. They can rip a person's arm off and beat them to death with it. And we are quite smart so…"

"A deadly combination."

"Indeed."

"Have you a plan?" asked Lee.

"Not at the moment." Replied the Hoplite.

"Wait, can chimps swim?"

"No."

"Then I have a plan!"

Lee and the Hoplite quickly began their offensive. The humanzee might have been strong and possibly smart but it was quite physically slow. Drowning it was no longer the plan. Now the plan was to wound it enough times until it was fatal. Eventually the humanzee had been stuck with steel so many times that it was succumbed to its wounds and died.

With a look of shock, Blompkins walked towards the two.

"Strength and intelligence but a slow body?" he asked. "Never could I have imagined. I will not seek world conquest with an army of humanzees. They were my only idea for that and with them having such a weakness I do not think I could emerge victorious… I think I will go into the clog making business instead."

"What about Tina?" asked Lee. "You killed her! Do you expect me to let you go?"

"Mr. Ping, a body was never found. I doubt she's dead."


	10. Reunited

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 **Reunited**

Walking across the shore of Lake Ontario, Lee and the Hoplite discussed what to do next. It was more Lee talking, the Hoplite just wanted to leave.

"Where am I to start with searching for Tina?" asked Lee. "She could have ended up in a hospital or on some shore surrounded by foliage or…"

"Or what, Lee?" asked the Hoplite. "Fell down a hole into the inner world of Pellucidar?"

"What?"

"Read a book!"

"Can you be serious?" Lee stopped walking and stared at the Hoplite. "If Tina is alive I have no idea where she even is!"

"Lee, relax. If contrived coincidence is a reality then you and Tina shall find each other."

"Do you really believe that?" asked Lee.

"I'm not sure but if this was a story we would have passed the climax and would be reaching the conclusion in just a moment." Replied the Hoplite. "And speaking of which, it is time the guest hero exits the story. I'm tired and I want to go home. Until we meet again, Lee!"

"Farewell, my friend." Said Lee. "And perhaps next time I may finally learn who you are."

And with that the Hoplite departed. They would meet again and indeed Lee would learn just who the Hoplite really was. But that was a story for another time.

As Lee walked along the shore of Lake Ontario, now alone and deep in thought he heard the sounds of footsteps. Lee turned around and there she was.

 **The End**


End file.
